NFA's Frontera taking step up at cross country nationals

NEWBURGH — Gianna Frontera of Newburgh Free Academy doesn't have the two premier local cross country championships to her credit this year, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a successful season.

Ken McMillan

NEWBURGH — Gianna Frontera of Newburgh Free Academy doesn't have the two premier local cross country championships to her credit this year, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been a successful season.

"I feel like I am progressing, and I did get a P.R. (personal record) for the regional meet,'' Frontera said. "I am getting faster than last year.''

Freshman Megan Reilly of Warwick beat Frontera, a junior, at the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association, Section 9 Class A and state Class A championship meets in recent weeks, and both have qualified for elite national championships in December. Frontera did achieve her goal of making the Nike Nationals, to be held Saturday in Portland, Ore.

"I couldn't ask much more out of her,'' Newburgh coach Blair Balough said of Frontera. "There just happens to be one person who ran faster than her. You control what you yourself can do. If the competition around you is better than you, they're better than you.''

Frontera has handled defeat with great aplomb, never hanging her head and always looking forward to the next challenge. She's hopeful of a top-20 finish in Portland, and she has a list of personal records she would like to beat during indoor track season, plus a goal to qualify for the prestigious Millrose Mile.

Racing with the likes of national elite Mary Cain of Bronxville, who placed sixth a year ago, and Section 1 champion Bella Burda of Arlington, Frontera knows the Nike Nationals experience should prove very beneficial.

"I know I can push myself more,'' she said. "I know I will be racing with people tops in the nation. It will be a cool experience.''

"She's never been in a meet of this magnitude before,'' Balough said. "It can only help her moving forward from here.''

Frontera qualified for Portland by placing fourth at the Nike New York regional on Saturday at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.

"That was a tough course,'' Frontera said. "The first mile is like where all the hills are. Thinking about it, it is better to get the hills over with and then it's all downhill, but it really doesn't matter to me.''

Frontera found herself in a three-way duel for fourth position over the last half of the 3.1-mile course.

"I knew I had to try really hard,'' she said, happy that she was able to fend off her two challengers.

The Portland Meadows course is decidedly different from any course Frontera has run. It is built in a European style, with three loops of a circuit that features rolling hills. There is plenty of rain forecast through the end of the week in Portland, so Balough and Frontera are expecting muddy conditions.

At the 2011 state meet, Frontera excelled in the muddy conditions at Vernon-Verona, so her confidence is high. Plus, she goes into this meet a bit more fresh since she elected to skip the state Federation meet at Bowdoin on Nov. 17.

"I am hoping she can stick with the girls from New York that she has been sticking with all season,'' Balough said, and since the New York Region is considered one of the most competitive in the country, that would bode well.

Frontera said she is excited to be traveling with Cain, Burda and others from the New York region, hoping to build on friendships and have some fun.

"I get a chance to hang out with them for three days,'' she said. "Mary said it (Nationals) was fun, and we get free gear.''

Balough said Frontera's trip might also include visits to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University during the all-important junior school year.